Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Hosea 8 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Hosea 8:4,5

“They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity?”

Their lack of surrender and obedience to the LORD brought about this great impurity in their lives. These verses speak of a people who want to be in control; they want to serve who they want, when they want, and how they want, regardless of the consequences. They set up idols in their hearts and people on their thrones, all the while ignoring God’s commands and forsaking His truth. This blatant rebellion and idolatry defiles their lives, and it will defile ours as well.

These verses teach us that not only were they incapable of purity because of their sin, but it also tells us that if we surrender to the LORD and serve Him only, then we are capable of being pure. That’s awesome, right? Me, once a sinful, rebellious man, now called pure by the LORD. It’s mind-blowing to think how much He can change us and how far He can take us. Yes, we must make the choice of who we will serve and worship, but make no mistake, it is God who makes the changes in our hearts. I am not able to change my own heart any more than I can change the color of the moon, but there is a God who can do both!

It’s important for us to understand that we have a part, a responsibility in all this, but in the same moment, we must also acknowledge that this is only done by Him, through Him, and for Him. These people could have been pure before their God had they surrendered and served their God; the same can be said about us. Will we surrender and serve Christ and thus be found pure in His sight, or will we continue to wallow in our sins and receive the wrath that is to come?

Matthew 16:26,27- “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done.”

God bless! I love you all, but surrendering to His love will make us pure! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

Hosea 8:11

“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.” 

 

It would be easy to look at this verse and think, “How could the Israelites do this? How could they take something that God gave them as a blessing and pervert it?” But before we go judging too harshly or too quickly, we must remember that we fall into that same trap sometimes. These altars were meant to be a place of atonement, reverence, and remembrance, a place of closeness to God. This was meant to be intimate and personal between God and His people. Yet they took that and perverted it.

 

Now think about our culture, and we don’t have altars per se, but we do have other gifts He has given us that we pervert and turn into pitfalls and traps. The one the Holy Spirit brought to my mind is sex. Sex is a gift from God, a gift given to a husband (male) and wife (female), a gift to be enjoyed explicitly in the covenant of marriage. A gift to bring closeness, unity, children, a new depth of love and intimacy between two people and with God as well. “Be fruitful and multiply” was a command God gave Adam and Eve, and He never revoked that command. So, to obey His command is pleasing and an act of worship, but to take it outside of the context of marriage is to pervert the beautiful blessing that He gave us and turn it into a curse. There are many more examples than this one, but this is one I have walked through myself and felt led to share.

 

My prayer today is that we can take the entire Word of God, examine our lives against it, and whatever doesn’t line up in our lives has to go. That we would listen and not ignore the perfect Word of God that brings life to those who believe and follow what it says.

 

Proverbs 4:20-23 - My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight; keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

 

God bless! I love you all! Glory, Honor, and Praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our Risen King, and the Holy Spirit who leads us in truth if we are willing to follow!

 

 

 

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